28th August 2022 (Pentecost 12) Sermon Title: God’s Hospitality (Psalm 81:1, 10–16 & Luke 14:1, 7–14                                                                                       By Heeyoung Lim  After Jesus challenges the rules about healing on the Sabbath, he challenges the way people exalt themselves and then gives instructions about who to invite to a banquet. (v. 7-11) In Jesus’ time, dinners were not just meals but social events that bonded people of similar status together. People could find out who had been invited before accepting an invitation and expected to eat with their social equals. In people’s perspectives, if the “wrong” people would be invited, many potential guests made excuses and declined the invitation. Some people declined the invitation if they felt that they could not give back the hospitality. The seating arrangement was crucial to them and offering less was shameful to the host in those times.  In this Bible story, the original hosts are the upper-class Jews who were so tied to their social status and ignored God. God rejected them and turned to the ones they looked down to find adequate guests for the heavenly banquet. We cannot say that their places have been reserved in the heavenly feast. Their attitude can cause them to miss God’s final heavenly banquet, or they would never participate in His banquet due to their worldly values. May we care more for others’ needs than for our own desires and reputation. Jesus wants us to participate in a glorious banquet through faith, hope, and loving hospitality.  In accordance with Jesus’ parable based on what was happening in the banquet, if we try to gain honour for ourselves, we will be humiliated. But if we are humble, then we will receive great honour. May we act with humility, not pride, in every situation, looking at Jesus. Jesus wants us to invite those who are unable to pay us back and to find the names of the poor, the injured, and the needy. Everyone deserves an invitation to a loving table. However, no one ever honours them with a dinner in those days. May we reverse the world’s way and invite those who are in need to our banquet. In verse 14, Jesus continued. “Instead, you are doing this for God. When you do things his way, He repays you.” I believe that eternal glory will be given to us if we believe in Jesus and share God’s hospitality here. God will give you His heavenly blessings, and you will be rewarded by God. May we not limit God’s hospitality in our lives. God asks us to live in the culture of the kingdom of God through our everyday acts toward each other and in and through our relationship with God and creation. In the relationship with God’s creation, we are responsible for climate change action in our lives, I believe that we are striving to do climate action in our daily lives, doing our best to protect and take good care of God’s creation. May we receive more heavenly blessing that invites us to grow into a deeper relationship with God and others. Jesus wants us to understand that our all-human drive to seek the best seat in a place is not genuine participation in God’s mercy or love. Many Christians want to be a blessing to others, but being a blessing is not easy. Instead, sharing blessings with others or displaying the blessings we have received is relatively easier than being a blessing. Jesus is highlighting the ways in which the realm of God establishes its own social and spiritual order. Jesus uses this occasion to describe the reign of God. There are reversals in the gospel of Luke. God’s reign is not about measuring up but about being invited by God. Jesus tells the host to invite people of low social status who cannot reciprocate the invitation. He also teaches the host to invite those who could not possibly return the favour. The reign of God is marked by true generosity, like the generosity God pours out on all. Although we cannot even begin to repay God’s hospitality, may we respond to God’s compassion and mercy in our daily living. In Psalm 81, Asaph calls God’s people to rejoice in God who has blessed them, to remember their past deliverance by the Lord, and to repent as to they do not appreciate His blessings. (1) Asaph urged the people, “Sing for joy to God our strength”. Just as God had provided for them earlier in their wilderness wanderings. He said and promised, “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it”. God’s hospitality is unlimited, and He wants to fill us with his blessings and tells us to open our mouth wide. In contrast to the gracious works of God, Israel was stubborn and would not listen to him. Verses 10–16 contrasts God’s gracious hospitality with the people’s rebelliousness and unwillingness to listen. In verse 16, God’s hospitality needs to be read through the lens of the Exodus. The people grumbled in the wilderness, demanding proof of God’s presence. God generously fed them manna, and water flowed from the rock when they wanted water. (Exodus 16 &17) In Psalm 81, God the host goes beyond the people’s request or demands, and they are promised by God the finest wheat and honey from the rock. God’s covenant is the foundation of the blessing that frames righteous living, and our salvation through Jesus is based on God’s hospitality.  In Luke’s gospel, Christ calls us to set such an open table, to invite all people to experience life shaped by God’s inclusive and compassionate love. What does it mean to be invited to live in God’s reign? We are invited not because of what we have or what

21st August 2022 (Pentecost 11) Sermon Title: Jesus’ Boundary-Breaking Love (Luke 13:10–17)                                                                                       By Heeyoung Lim  Jesus taught people in a synagogue on this Sabbath, He sees a woman there who has been unable to stand up straight for 18 years. The crippled woman does not ask for healing. Instead, Jesus calls to her and sets her free from her serious illness by laying hands on her. Her response is to stand up straight and begin praising God.  In John 9, Jesus said that the sickness has nothing to do with sins when his disciples asked him, rather, this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. In this woman’s case from Luke 13, her back had been bent for eighteen years because an evil spirit controlled her. When Jesus sees and calls the woman, she responds by coming forward. When He declares she is “set free” from her sickness, she stands up straight, praising God. Jesus’ loving, caring eye picked her out of the crowd. Jesus identifies her as a recipient of God’s blessing and a person of faith. Jesus healed by placing his hands on the sufferer, and healing came immediately. The woman recognized the source of her healing and praised God. However, the synagogue leader is angry and criticizes those in the crowd who have come for healing on the Sabbath. Filled with righteous indignation, the religious leader pointed out that Jesus broke the law and people cannot work on the Sabbath. When Jesus taught or healed, the reaction was mixed. Many people were thrilled and praised God, but some became angry and indignant. In this leader’s eyes, Jesus has broken the Law. He insisted that this day is for God’s work but missed the whole point of what God’s work is. He was caught in the trap of placing form before substance. The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites!”.  He asked him, “Is she less important than your animals?” Our Lord does not want us to be content for religious hypocrisy. Jesus untied her from the suffering she has faced by his love and mercy. If the Sabbath is to honour God, what greater honour is there than to restore someone to wholeness. The religious leaders were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things Jesus was doing. The entire crowd rejoiced in response. Especially the least people who had no other defender against the religious system and the political oppression. They saw someone break the system or tradition which gives more attention to religious rules rather than human needs. They were delighted to see someone who cared for and helped those who are in need. They recognized that God’s work through Jesus’ boundary-breaking love was glorious, which seems to indicate they knew these were divine acts. Jesus lived within the Law but came to help people understand the spirit of the Law in a new way. His action to set the woman free to worship on the Sabbath shows that healing and liberation take precedence over human rules. Dedication to God leads to meeting human need, while dedication to religion protects the tradition even at the cost of human life. May we have confidence that God is at work growing his kingdom even when we cannot see much evidence of it. Entering and experiencing the kingdom of God can be done by faith, listening to God’s Word, and practicing it, not by maintaining religious tradition. May we remember the Sabbath Day or the Lord’s Day to keep it holy.  Jesus welcomes, loves, and restores all in the ways of God’s healing reign. We are invited to celebrate and praise God for His boundary-breaking love. We also are called to be agents of such healing freedom. Someone is probably living in the shadows in some way. May we reach out and invite people to the centre of our community’s life together. Can we celebrate the worth found in all people in worship, learning and serving? How might we recognize every single person within Christian community? To be in the synagogue on the Sabbath in Jesus’ time was to be at the very centre of the Jewish faith. This is where life, faith, and community merged in a wonderful celebration of God’s presence and promise. It would have been a joyous, awesome, and holy place.  But Jesus calls and places the woman in the centre of the community and transform the crowd. May this service enable our congregation to praise God more and more, and all be more valued and passionately called by the Spirit of Christ into a loving community. God calls us toward the places where grace and healing hope and justice exist. He opens us to new dimensions of faith and gives us courage to break the rules that bind and burden, to bring joy in abundance where joy has been depleted. Jesus reaches out to the woman burdened and living in the shadows and proclaims she is “set free,” and we rejoice in our liberation as well. God, our rock, and refuge, affirms, calls, and sets us free to participate fully in God’s healing, reconciling reign. God breaks into our world and shakes things up. As we approach the healing ministry, we realize God’s unlimited power and our limits and pray for the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual liberation. To ask for healing helps us step into Jesus’ invitation for healing and restoration. Even when the pathway seems to be unclear, in Jesus’ healing power, may we stand up straight to look up Jesus and praise God just like the healed woman.  The theology of the Sabbath in Jesus’ practice and teaching implies for us our memory of God’s healing and freeing power in Christ

14th August 2022 (Pentecost 10) Sermon Title: Run the Race in Faith (Hebrews 11:29-12:2 & Luke 12:49-56)                                                                                   By Heeyoung Lim  The beginning of Luke’s Gospel proclaims that Jesus will “guide our feet into the way of peace” (1:79). Near the end of the Gospel, the resurrected Jesus appears among his followers and offers a benediction of peace (24:36). He taught His followers to bring greetings of peace as they shared the good news. (10:5–6) How might we understand Jesus’ statement that he brings fire to the earth instead of peace? (12:49) In the light of his own example and his preaching, what can Jesus’ words of division possibly mean? (v.56) Unity is always important and valuable, but Jesus doesn’t want us to have hypocritical peace or be pacifists. The fire he has come to cast on earth is the divided and hostile responses that the Spirit-inspired proclamation of Jesus’ death and resurrection will engender. Jesus was fully compelled to accomplish the mission for which he has been sent, so that its results spread to the ends of the earth.   Even during worship, some worshippers carry with them an unforgettable lifetime experience, emotional complexity, and sometimes very painful memories from other communities or relationships. That includes shameful things that have been done in the name of Christ’s church in many places. However, even when division begins between godly ways and worldly ways, the gospel continues to break in among us if we are at the opportune time and under the impulse of God. The way of faith breaks well-worn moulds of expectations in our lives as we grow into the people God calls us to be. Life is tough and unsettling. We want easy and simple answers, but they are usually complicated. May we let go of the things that weigh us down, looking at the example of Jesus, who did not give up in proclaiming the message of God’s justice. How can we set things aside and move forward?  Jesus’ disciples and crowd saw Him as king of peace, perhaps the king who would win or end all wars and create the kingdom of peace. However, dedication and faithfulness to Jesus set a person apart from others or the world. The coming of Jesus the Messiah left no room for neutrality. May we choose to be for the Lord, not against him. Our choice sometimes brings strong opposition and separation from those closest to us who make the other choice. There are both joys and trials when we take up the role of disciples. What keeps us going when the going gets tough in the life of faith? Today’s text explores sources of strength, example, and encouragement, and reminds us that God restores and guides. Beyond Jesus’ unexpected speaking to the crowd, there awaits an equally strong word of forgiveness and God’s tender embrace. Jesus has provided his people an example to follow in facing life’s trials. By faith, the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land, the walls of Jericho fell after 7 days of marching, and Rahab welcomed the spies with risks and was not killed. Rahab is a foreigner, yet by her faith she risked her own life to save the lives of others. The inclusion of Rahab shows that people who live by faith are not always who we think they may be. It reminds us that “by faith” God’s people did some amazing things. Faith led believers to experience God’s better blessings. It begins with a confidence in the existence of God and provides a confidence that God rewards those who seek him with the whole heart. What God requires of God’s person is producing a fruitful vineyard and running a fruitful race as in Hebrew 11 and 12. In those times, the faith community is seen to have faced severe persecution. Concerned that people would turn away from the Christian faith, the writer encourages the people of God to hold faith even in suffering and become faith-filled people who persevered to the very end. The use of “we” and “us” in the text (12:1) means the faithful journeys of the community with togetherness rather than just a solo run. May we run the race together not in competition but in a spirit of collaboration and encouragement. The examples of those who persevere in faith against the difficulties encourage a struggling community. May we seek justice, act kindly, endure hardship by faith, and influence others in faithfulness. Choosing faithfulness is not easy nor passive. It can be demanding and often requires change and growth.  Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2 reminds us that God rescued Israel from Egypt, but their path has not been easy. It asks us to think about our forebears in faith, those who are faithful to God, whether things went smoothly for them or not. Luke 12:49–53 can seem particularly harsh and unsettling. May we run a fruitful race in God’s hope for a harvest of justice and righteousness. Believers find encouragement in being surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses as the saints mentioned in Hebrews 11. Their triumph gives evidence of a life of faith, and the cloud implies a massive host of these exemplary servants. We receive much encouragement from knowing that others have faced obstacles in the Christian life and have gloriously triumphed. Our faith and such encouragement led us to cast aside our hindrance and sin in the Christian life. Rejecting sin’s entanglement helps us run our race with perseverance. May we avoid all actions that produce bitter fruit and contaminate the lives of others. The race is that path God has marked out for us. May we faithfully follow the route God himself has marked. Christian athletes must keep their eyes

7th August 2022 (Pentecost 9) Sermon Title: Service and Readiness in Daily Life (Luke 12:32–40)                                                                                   By Heeyoung Lim  Many people live in fear because of war, the economy, global warming, unemployment, hunger, poverty, homelessness, disease, and death. It looks impossible to escape. Even in our daily life, people are bullied and neglected physically and emotionally, and sometimes they are abused mentally and spiritually.  Jesus offers a word of comfort in a threatening world: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (v. 32). It opens us to the blessings that God is prepared to give. Do we want to live lives of giving? Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor”, calling on his followers to place their confidence in the imperishable things of heaven. In accordance with Jesus’ word, where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. In some points of view, “giving” seems to lead to deprivation and desperation, but the gospel promises that giving from what we have will make us mindful of the God of blessing, and ready to receive the gifts that God offers. Do we live our lives as the master’s servants, God’s children, and Jesus’ disciples?  The delight of his life is to find ways to give not just daily needs but his whole kingdom to you. May we be freed from worry and material things. Dedication to Jesus is more than becoming worry-free. Christian dedication is to kingdom service, not worldly goods. We are part of God’s kingdom and do the work He gives us to do. May we not let anxiety rule our life. God will give us His kingdom. I hope and pray that we can concentrate on being God’s instruments to establish His kingdom here on earth.  But how do we do all this? Today’s text invites us to tuck the bottom of our robes into our belt and trim and light our lamps, so we are ready to serve God. A servant of the kingdom is always on call and has no time for delay. No time to go out to buy oil. No time to light the lamps so they will keep on burning. No time to adjust our clothing so we can run to the duty the Master entrusts.  It means that the Master calls us His servants. Jesus wants us to be ready to open the door and to carry out the tasks He has planned for us. This is especially true in the light of the second coming. We must be ready to move when Christ returns. It’s time to hear God’s words, serve others, and set out to complete the task. Are we worrying about material goods? Are we serving the Lord and His kingdom? When Christ comes, may we be ready to move with him. I believe that we can be serving the Lord and others in the present and preparing for the future at the same time. As in verses 37 – 38, God wants us to be alert until Christ comes again. No spare time allowed. He may come when we least expect him, in the middle of the night. May we be alert and be blessed. Heavenly treasures give no cause for worry, but earthly treasures will be caused for worry constantly. Our heart, the center of emotions and mental activities, will concentrate on where we have our treasures. Our identity is determined by where our heart is. Many people Ignore God and spend their physical and emotional energy on the world’s goods and earthly success while many Christians trust God and spend their efforts on the matters of the kingdom of God. The priority toward God and His kingdom should not be replaced by our earthly desire. May we not let possessions become the focus of life. May we not worry about daily needs but focus on Christ’s kingdom and trust God to provide daily needs. Waiting in difficulties is not easy in an impatient world. Our busy life or uncertainty is rooted in anxiety and fear about the future. What would happen if we really entrusted the future up to God? God will care for you.  In today’s text, the eschatology or consummation focuses not so much on the end times as on the end ways. The consistent message throughout the passage is not, “Be ready so that you will avoid punishment,” but, rather, “Be ready so that you will receive blessing.” After all, those who are ready when the master returns will be the recipients of a heavenly feast (vv. 37–38). Living, loving, and serving are our happiness and blessings in Christ. Today’s text claims that our ultimate concern is God’s kingdom, because it was God’s pleasure to include us in God’s reign. What we need, accumulate, and possess in life is transitory as just time itself. God’s blessings for us empower us to use our talents, possessions, and time to live and serve for the kingdom of God in the present as we hope and expect Christ’s second coming in the future. The prepared ones are those who strive to live and serve faithfully in the present, hoping for the future and expecting Christ’s return. Jesus’ followers prepare for Christ’s return, not personal pleasure in the master’s absence. Jesus calls us to lives of faithfulness, being ever ready to participate in the reign of God. In our daily life, there are many distractions that pull away from God’s word, and many plans and works that divert attention from the things of God. God wants to give us His kingdom and blessings. The things of God are to be given the most urgent priority in every Christian’s life. God’s tender and

GOD’S FAITHFULNESS Luke 12: 13-21 by Geoff Serpell; 31 July 2022 Today’s lectionary gospel reading is about a man who is already wealthy and who, because of a bumper crop, found himself with more wealth than he could point a stick at. The harvest was coming out of his ears. He said to himself, “I will store it all away, take early retirement and eat, drink and be merry. “He assumed he was covered for the years to come, only that he didn’t have years. That very night he died. He assumed that his future was secure, but he had no future to secure. The truth is that no amount of planning and no amount of wealth can ensure a secure future. In recent times we have heard about ambulances waiting to discharge their patients into overfull hospital wards. Years of running our health system like a business has come back to bite us. A certain cancer doctor resigned his position after 23 years working in Victoria’s public health system. This doctor was the sort of doctor the system needs. He cares for his patients, which means sitting at the side of a dying patient for 20 minutes, not talking, not doing, just being a presence.  This was a doctor who still wanted to listen to patients and understand their needs rather than just shove them through. Budgets are now framed on throughput, squeezing more and more patients through for less and less funding which erodes the quality of care. The system has no place for a doctor who sits at a beside for 20 minutes without doing anything you could bulk bill for. So, he quit like many others. No place for a person who values people over profits. The context is entirely different, but the same values are under examination in today’s gospel reading. Someone in the crowd comes to Jesus and says, “Rabbi, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me”.  Family disputes today over breaking up an estate are never pretty where usually the lawyers are the only big winners.  In Israel at the time of our story, the selling up option was not on. The family inheritance was mostly the family farm. The Hebrew’s sense of connection to their land was like our Aboriginal people, you can’t just sell it off. Even today how would you divide land where one half has a creek running through it and the other half is near desert. Jan and I in the market for a buyer of our land, in the family since 1958. We want to stay in Highett hence we have signed with Ryman who are building a Retirement Village at Graham Road Highett. We want to stay in our home till the unit is available maybe until October next year. Meanwhile we are decluttering!! Fortunately, the family is very much on side, and we keep them posted with a ball by ball description of events. I may end up writing another book. Back in Israel, the procedure to get a ruling on such matters was to find a friendly Rabbi to agree on your proposition. This of course allowed some Rabbis to make a quick quid and help pay off the mortgage on the beach house down at Joppa. Jesus came at this problem from a different angle not wanting to arbitrate because there would be no reconciliation with the brother arising from an adverse ruling. A no win situation. It would have been a bit like a woman and her son where, after putting in $20 a week each to buy lottery tickets and actually won $4.2 million dollars. But the son immediately claimed that he’d bought that ticket with his own money. The mother who said that their relationship had previously been “loving and close” sued him for her half. You can just hear the mother asking the lawyer: “tell my son to divide the family winnings with me.” Once you bring in the lawyers to resolve a family dispute, you might win the dispute but you’re unlikely to still have a family.  Now the bloke in Jesus’ story has about eight times the harvest he expected, and it will not all fit in the barns, so he must decide what to do. What most jews would have done in the circumstances were to give thanks to God for this great blessing and then celebrate with friends by throwing a party. The usual thing done in those days also was to walk down to the town gates and discuss it with the elders who were good at solving problems of the universe.  Our man does not do anything he should have. He gives thanks to no one, and he celebrates on his own. When he wants advice, he talks to himself. That’s what it says. His answer to himself is to tear down the barns and build bigger ones. You can imagine why this bloke has no one else to talk to. He’s the sort of character who would sell his own grandmother if there was a buck in it. The sort that no one wants as a friend. Jesus prefaced his story by saying that your life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions and now he has set up this pathetic creature who’s lived as though life was just a case of “He who dies with the most toys wins”. Jesus was saying to this man “How much is it worth to win this one? Will your life really be better if you destroy your family to get your hands on the inheritance?” We are bombarded with images that tell us over and over that our life consists in driving that car, having such a piece of furniture, a certain fragrance, or the upmarket glass of wine. Not only can we have it but, the inference is, we deserve to have it all. Buy up and the economy will be better off, with or without Afterpay.